Legacy
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Future fic. Duke didn't want to pass his Trouble on to an innocent kid, but accidents happen. Duke/Jennifer


**I don't own Haven and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Duke never wanted to pass his legacy – his Trouble – on to any kids. Jennifer was afraid of the same thing, so they agreed they wouldn't have any children.

But accidents happen (ironically, right before he went in for a vasectomy) and now Jennifer was pregnant. She stared in horror at the positive pregnancy test in her hand. They hadn't planned this, had tried to prevent it, and she had still got pregnant. But underneath all that was excitement. She _wanted_ this baby, no matter how much both of them were terrified of passing their Troubles on to the next generation. Jennifer was still worried about it (and probably would be for a very long time), but maybe this was a good thing. She and Duke were going to be parents – they were having a baby, who was going to be half of each of them.

Jennifer proceeded to panic until Duke got home from work. When he walked through the door, she actually calmed down and decided to just come right out and say it. Ripping off the Band-Aid was a good idea. "So I have something to tell you."

He smiled at her. "Oh, you do, do you? I'm looking forward to whatever it is."

She laughed nervously. "I hope you feel the same after I tell you this. I know it isn't planned and this isn't confirmed yet because I still have to go to the doctor, but I'm…," she trailed off, panicking.

"You're what?" He eyed her worriedly, especially since his wife had mentioned a doctor. "Are you sick?"

"Just in the mornings," Jennifer mumbled.

"What?"

She finally got up the courage to tell him their big news. "I'm pregnant. I know we didn't plan this or anything, but I want to keep the baby." She closed her eyes and waited for the explosion.

It didn't come. To Jennifer's shock, Duke actually walked out of the house, slamming the door on his way out. Tears came to her eyes and she called Audrey. She needed to talk to the woman who had become her best friend (besides Duke).

Duke had not expected those words to come out of Jennifer's mouth when he walked in. Hell, he had never expected to hear them at all. In fact, he had made an appointment to get a vasectomy to prevent this very thing and it was three days away from happening (maybe he should cancel that now? He wasn't sure). The Troubles were still a problem and he and Jennifer hadn't wanted to risk passing theirs on to any children. They had talked about adoption, but they figured that was still a ways off. They had only been married for seven months.

He didn't want his child to hurt, to be afraid of what Haven was like. And Duke especially didn't want to be like his father. He really didn't want to fuck this up. What if he was a terrible father? Audrey and Nathan were doing okay with James, but they hadn't raised him and he was a very independent adult. But at the same time, there was going to be a baby. He and Jennifer could figure this out, couldn't they?

Duke walked aimlessly until he showed up at the docks and then headed towards his boat. He sat down and started thinking about what this meant. This baby was going to change their lives forever and he honestly wasn't sure if he was ready. Walking out on his wife had been a pretty big mistake, but he had freaked out and went with his first instinct.

Needless to say, he wasn't surprised when Nathan showed up. "Jennifer and Audrey sent me to find you. Audrey told me she's going to kick your ass when you least expect it, so there's your warning."

Duke laughed. "Is Jennifer okay?"

Nathan shrugged. "Well, she had stopped crying by the time I left so maybe."

Duke winced. "I don't want to fuck this up, but I already am, aren't I? I just hurt the woman I love because I panicked."

"You can still make this up to her, Duke. You want to talk about it?" he offered.

Duke laughed. "Thanks. We didn't want to pass on our Troubles, you know? Doing that to a kid seems cruel. But I've only known about the pregnancy for an hour or whatever and I already love this kid. I'm scared shitless, though."

"Aren't we all? Audrey and I want more, but we're waiting until the issues with the Troubles are resolved. And we'll figure it out, so stop panicking. I think you're going to nail this father thing. You'll both figure it out. If we haven't stopped the Troubles yet and Baby Crocker is Troubled, then you'll help them through it. It's as simple as that. Don't lie." Nathan smiled at his best friend.

"Huh, that actually helped. Thanks, Nathan. I need to stop and get her chocolate or something to make this up to her." He was not looking forward to the dressing down he would receive when he got home, but Duke knew he deserved it.

"No flowers?"

"No flowers. Jennifer yelled at me the last time I brought home flowers because it's such a cliché and we're not that couple. She loves chocolate and prefers that."

"Sounds good." Nathan headed towards his car and Duke followed them. They stopped by the store and Duke bought a shitload of chocolate because he figured he was in a lot of trouble. After that, the two went back to Duke and Jennifer's place.

On their way in, Audrey stepped outside. "You better grovel for forgiveness," she hissed as she grabbed Nathan's hand.

"I fucked this up pretty badly, didn't I?" He cringed.

Audrey nodded. "Yes, you did. You hurt her and she's pretty mad. But you can earn her forgiveness. Don't you dare walk out again. And congratulations, by the way. This is pretty exciting!" She and Nathan walked away to give the two some privacy.

Duke laughed at .he change in tone and then made his way inside. The first thing he did was hand Jennifer her chocolate. "I am so sorry, Jen. I didn't expect to hear that you were pregnant and I freaked out. That's no excuse, but it's the truth. I didn't want to hurt you, but I'm scared of what can happen to our kid."

"Don't you think I'm scared, too, Duke? But I can't run away like you did. That hurt and it was really stupid of you."

"I know it was. I'll make it up to you by doing whatever you want me to do. I won't even complain. But I think we can do this, you know? Holy shit, you're pregnant. There's going to be someone in our lives who's a part of me and you." He stared at her in awe.

She smiled at her husband despite herself. "Yeah, pretty exciting, isn't it?"

"You're damn right it is." Duke laughed and then moved closer to kiss her. "Love you."

"Love you too, you moron," she murmured when they pulled apart.

"I deserve that," he conceded. Duke grabbed her hand and squeezed it. He admired Jennifer and was surprised he hadn't noticed a change before. It was cliché as hell and he wasn't going to tell her, but Jennifer was definitely glowing. He loved it.

They were both terrified of becoming parents and passing on their Troubles, but Duke and Jennifer weren't alone. They were able to lean on Nathan and Audrey for support and help. Duke did go in for his vasectomy since one surprise was enough (they got an even bigger one later when the ultrasound revealed they were having twins) and they weren't willing to risk this again. They never once regretted their accident, however.

And fortunately for them (and everyone else in Haven), the Troubles were finally halted for good about two weeks before Jennifer gave birth. No one would have to worry about them ever again.


End file.
